


Unremarkable Nostalgia

by fandomlife



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post Season 11, Slight Angst?, im sad after this im sorry, nostalgia!!, pregnant scully
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 13:10:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15931118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomlife/pseuds/fandomlife
Summary: Mulder finds a picture of Scully from her early 20s (AKA the adorable little thing Gillian posted on Twitter recently). MSR one shot.





	Unremarkable Nostalgia

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first x-files fanfiction so I'm petrified. Thanks for checking this out and hope you enjoy!
> 
> the picture in question: https://twitter.com/GillianA/status/1037746075958960128

Mulder had woken up early that day and took it as an opportunity to be productive. Ever since he and Scully had left the FBI, he found himself sitting idle most of the time, unless he and Scully were preparing any pre-baby deeds.

Scully was now five months in and he couldn’t be more ecstatic. He had been there every step of the way, trying to make it up for her. He was there for the morning sickness, the cravings, the ultrasounds, the baby shopping. Ever since they had found out they were having a baby girl, Mulder started racking his brain for the best possible option to name his little one. 

He tried to get busy on most days by grocery shopping, taking care of Scully (no matter how much she protested), and working on the nursery he was building. They had decided on a pale shade of purple and he was almost done designing the walls. They picked out most of the furniture and were waiting for them to be shipped. Mulder found himself having his most serene moments thinking of his unborn child and the women carrying her. 

He got up carefully from the bed, careful on not waking Scully’s sleeping body, and exited the room. He strolled to the kitchen to prepare his coffee, mentally planning his day ahead. Looking around, he decided the house could use some light tidying. 

Walking around this house, the Unremarkable House they had built years ago, Mulder couldn’t help but think of all the house had been through. Their pain, fear, loss, his depressive episodes, her misery. The house had been through so much with them, and was now ready for this shift in their lives; the first positive shift in years, and Mulder couldn’t be prouder. 

He found himself standing at his study door, cup of coffee still loosely in hand. He rarely ever used it nowadays, just for quick research or the occasional video game on his computer. He approached his desk, still messy from his last visit. Loose files and miscellaneous papers were spread on the wooden surface, scattered in no particular order. 

He placed his mug on the surface and ran his hands through the papers, remembering what used to occupy his mind. He sat on his old chair and opened his drawer for further inspection. Random files, yet again. He was about to close the drawer when he spotted something he hadn’t seen in years. 

A photo album. 

He grinned to himself and grabbed it, eagerly flipping through it. He had seen the pictures before; pictures of them in the 90s on cases, Scully’s family, Scully’s dog, Scully at Quantico. It was mostly filled with Scully and he couldn’t be happier about it. He loved seeing reminders of their past. Although bittersweet, they were a reminder that they made it, they survived, and they’ll be okay. Also, Scully was adorable in her oversized suits and fluffy hair and rosy cheeks. 

He was about to close the album when he noticed a picture stuck to the inner hardcover of the book. He peeled it off to examine it carefully, and he was about to lose it. His grin grew impossibly large as he looked down at the glossy image in his hands. 

It was Scully, probably in her early twenties, probably still a medical student, sitting adorably on a couch with a cup of coffee in hand, looking up at the photographer with her big blue eyes. Her hair was a complete mess, longer than he was used to it being, growing out in unruly red curls. 

Mulder was baffled by the sheer innocence in the photo. Scully, his Scully, wrapped in an oversized cardigan, looking adorably cozy, blissfully unaware of the life ahead of her. She’d kill him if he gushed over the picture, but he couldn’t help it. Baby Scully—along with all of Scully if he was being honest—was his sweet spot. He pondered over the backstory of the photo for a bit until he heard Scully’s voice calling out to him. 

“Mulder?” Scully called into the space of the house. She rubbed her little belly bump soothingly and walked down the hallway. 

“In the study!” Mulder called back, excited on revealing his discovery to the model in the picture herself. He was still staring at the picture when Scully appeared in the doorway.

“What are you doing?” She leaned against the threshold, crossing her arms over her bump. Mulder ushered her over without saying another word. He finally peeled his eyes off the picture to look up at her. She was staring at his hands confusedly, waiting for him to show her what he was so excited about. He was momentarily distracted by the sun coming through the small window on the right of his desk, hitting her in the face. Her hair, now grown a bit, set in flames, and her eyes as intense as ever. Scully was standing there, in her pajamas and baby bump, and he had never felt more in love. 

She was about to urge him on when he interrupted her. “You look so beautiful.” The soft features on his face as he looked up at her melted her heart, and she walked around the desk to get to him. She lowered herself and kissed the top of his head, wrapping her arms loosely around it. “Good morning to you too. What do you wanna show me?” 

Mulder silently held up the photo and waited to gauge her reaction. As soon as her eyes laid on it, she snatched it and stared intently. 

“Where did you find this?” She laughed loudly, finding her old appearance utterly ridiculous. She hadn’t seen that photo in decades. Mulder laughed along with her, pulling her down to rest on his lap. He flipped though the album in front of them. “I found this in the drawer and it was stuck between the pages.” 

Her laughter subsided as he wrapped his arms around her middle, looking at the picture from above her shoulder, though she still wore a face-splitting grin. 

“Care to share the story behind it?” He asked after a few moments of silence. Scully sighed and turned to look at him through her lashes. “I think this was around 1987? I had just come back from a long night at my internship at a hospital and I was exhausted, but I still had class that day. So Melissa made me coffee and made me snap out of it. We had a good talk that morning. She was messing around with her new camera and took this without my permission. I had caught her at the very last second.” She turned back to the photo with a solemn look on her features, but her soft smile remained. She sighed and Mulder tightened his grip around her, knowing that after all these years, Scully missed her sister everyday. 

When Maggie had died, Mulder couldn’t help but remember Melissa’s death and its repercussion on their lives. He was devastated at letting another Scully go, and his heart ached for his Scully, whom proved to be stronger than him. She never seized to amaze him. 

“She’d be proud of you.” He whispered into her back and kissed her shoulder blade, feeling the shiver running down her spine. “She’d be telling me to stop moping around and feed the unborn child in me.” She laughed it off and stood up, releasing herself from Mulder’s grip. 

“Thanks for finding this.” She held his hand and helped him up. He squeezed it and smiled tightly. She carefully placed the photo in the photo album, below a picture of her and Melissa during Christmas of ’92. She closed the album and hugged it to her chest. 

“You started my day with nostalgia. Now go make me breakfast so I can look at these in peace.” She giggled and walked out of the room towards the kitchen, him following suit. 

He would drop everything he was doing for her, and soon, their little girl.


End file.
